But Dr. Ashley James, a naturopathic doctor and the Leafs’ nutritionist, is trying to get the elite hockey players under her charge to change their ways.

James would rather they eat a bit less at lunch and a bit more food closer to game time.

“Instead of having one huge meal and not eating a lot before the game, they actually need to have a good-sized meal before their nap and the same again after the nap,” said James.

She also wants them to cut down on the fettuccine alfredo, the hockey players’ meal of choice.

“It’s really been hard to change that,” said James. “There’s not enough protein in that meal, so adding some chicken helps. And we compromised with a rose sauce, which makes it a little bit lower fat.”

James spent some time this week with prospects invited to Leaf camp. She works closely with Anthony Belza, the Leafs’ strength and conditioning coach, in helping to teach these young players what they should eat in order to become high-performance athletes.

“We want to have a good mixture of carbohydrates, protein and good healthy fats,” said James. “Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for an athlete, and we want to have lower glycemic load carbohydrates, things like brown rice, slow-cooked oatmeal.

Belza encourages water over juice and cautions against sweeteners in or on any food, but might look the other way on maple syrup if that’s only way a player will eat his pancakes. He pointed out that variety is important, so the player wouldn’t eat the same meal every day. And Belza also encourages his athletes to eat organic foods whenever possible.

“Breakfast doesn’t have to be breakfast foods,” said Belza. “We’re trying to convince our guys to have leftovers from the night before for breakfast — like chicken or fish.”

Fruit and vegetables are always plentifully available in the Leafs dressing room. But they won’t find white starches.

“We avoid anything white like white rice, white pasta,” said Belza.

On the road, the Leaf room is filled with pizza, something Belza frowns upon but considers the lesser of two evils. “Sometimes guys are famished and have the pizza as a stopgap,” said Belza.

When it comes to chocolate, treats and even beer, Belza preaches moderation.

“There’s room for them to have food they enjoy as long as they fall into the principle (of) moderation,” said Belza.

It’s game day, so what is the elite NHL player supposed to eat?

We asked James: if she was billeting the team’s top pick and wanted him to eat right, what would she feed him the day of the season-opener? Because a hockey player’s routine is different, it’s not a breakfast-lunch-dinner scenario. Here’s what she came up with:

Morning: Slow-cooking oatmeal (non-instant), some scrambled eggs, maybe some peameal bacon, some fruit and a big glass of water. “You need the yolk to get some of the nutrients that are in the egg white. I tell people if you want to do an egg-white omelette, always throw at least one yolk in there.”

Notably, there’s no juice. “It can spike your insulin, especially early in the morning. We’re doing our best to keep our insulin at a steady rate.”

There’s no tea or coffee — “Caffeine is a proven performance enhancer. You need to have it only before a game. Your body adapts to caffeine. If you want to use it as a performance enhancer, you should be having it just pre-game.”

Post-morning skate: “A protein shake that is a little bit of carbohydrate and a little bit of protein, a three-to-one (carb-to-protein) ratio. In the shake, there is a sugar source. Our body needs sugar after a workout.”

Pre-game (midday) meal: “Ideally, brown rice or a brown-rice pasta, and you want that to be 50 to 60 per cent of your plate, and then lots of green leafy vegetables, some broccoli, a couple of chicken breasts, grilled.”

Post-nap meal: “It would be very similar to their pre-game meal. I’m trying to get them to split, and make it two meals. Similar food. Maybe some wild salmon, maybe a brown-rice penne with olive oil and basil sauce.”

Pre-game snacks: “Right before they go on the ice, it’s oatmeal, scrambled eggs, chicken breast slices, and fruit. They need to eat that 30 to 60 minutes before they go on the ice, just to top up their energy.”

In-game snacks: “Protein: Chicken breasts, protein bars.”

Post-game: “It’s a huge meal. They usually have steak and some pasta. We want the same ratio of carbohydrate and protein to replenish what they’ve lost during the game. It’s huge but they need it. Also they go to bed later, because they’re wired for nightly games.”

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.